Interview with a social entrepreneur: Justin Burke of UGLYS

Justin Burke touts ‘ugly’ produce - selling them cheaply or giving them away for free. He hopes this social business - borne amid a pandemic - will spread across communities

“Grab your free grapefruit,” Justin Burke tells customers to his stall in the Auckland North Shore suburb of Devonport.

Behind the box of grapefruits for the taking is a table laden with boxes of fruits for sale - more grapefruits, as well as lemons, mandarins, bananas and avocados. The fruits are of varying sizes, with irregular shapes. Sprigs of parsley and oregano are arranged on the side. It’s a scene straight out of a farmers’ market, but is actually just outside Justin’s home in this seaside suburb.

“It is all organic, all fresh. It is picked on Thursday and Friday,” says Justin, who has been setting up the stall in front of his house on 25 Clarence Street for the past three weekends.

“The ugliest fruit like this,” says Justin, holding up an avocado picked the day before, “often tastes the best.”

“It is a contradiction,” he says, smiling, “it is ugly, but it is beautiful.”

Hence, he explains, it was easy to decide on the name for his fledgling business: 'UGLYS'. 

The fruits at UGLYS come from Devonport gardens, harvested from established trees that are “at least 10 years old”, says Justin. He then points to a box of avocados that came from a 30-plus-year-old tree. “They are full of goodness,” he exclaims. “Fruit like it should taste!”

“We have got to the point where the source of food is all anonymous generally,” he states on his foray into UGLYS. “You go to a place, you see it [the produce] is cheap, and big, and think, ‘I’ll buy that.’ But, is it good for you? Who made it? Do they care? Does it have quality ingredients?”

How to start a business amid a pandemic

Justin describes UGLYS as a “local initiative, a social business”.

The idea came about during the lockdown brought by COVID-19. Justin is a travel agent and realised that the pandemic means the work he has been doing for the past 30 years will not be happening soon. 

“I started going for long walks, and thought, ‘I like to be outside, and talking to people.’”

He noted that in many gardens across Devonport, a lot of fruits just lie on the ground, wasted. He talked to the homeowners if he could harvest them for UGLYS. 

“Ten percent of the fruit goes to the community box, which is right over there,” says Justin, whose house is opposite the Devonport Community Centre.

Twenty percent of the harvest goes to the garden owner to share with family and friends, and UGLYS sells the rest. Justin says a further 20 percent of the proceeds goes to a school, club or church. “Anything that is left over goes into the [community] box or the City Mission.”

“We take anything, from half a dozen lemons, to a whole tree of grapefruits,” says Justin. He reckons, with a laugh, that it will take him two years to talk to every household in the suburb of Devonport, as he promotes and sources the produce for UGLYS. “That's fine, because if you are talking about a community, it is about people connecting, learning from each other, and sharing.”

 Justin calls on customers to “check out what UGLYS have first!” when they do their weekly shopping.

He ensures that the products are affordable.“We sell two lemons for a dollar, and these are proper lemons,” he states. There are signs indicating which gardens the fruits came from.

“The business is building up, gradually,” says Justin, who encourages other suburbs to start similar initiatives. “It is about stopping waste on the back end; and on the front end, it is eating better, eating quality food.”

“I like the idea of growing UGLYS literally organically, just like these fruits and vegetables. This business should grow from good roots.”

Justin Burke’s formula for UGLYS:

• 10% Goes straight into the community box
• 20% You keep up to 20% for your family and friends
• 70% 'We sell the rest and 20% of the proceeds is donated to your chosen school, club or church.'

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